The quarter-finals between Brazil and Belgium was played in Kazan Arena on July 6. Fans of both sides had high expectations for their team after coming to this round. However, one of the team had to go back with a broken heart after the game.
Last World Cup in 2014, Brazil was able to qualify for the semi-finals. However, they struggled this time to find their rhythm against Belgium in the quarter-final match.
According to BBC, There was a point in the match when fans were expecting the game to take a U-turn in favor of Brazil, but Belgium didn’t let that happen.
The Belgian players played their part very well, especially the midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, and the striker, Romelu Lukaku, played with some extra energy and helped their team to beat the men-in-yellow. The game ended with a win for Belgium with a 2-1 score.
Match Recap
The first-half started with the dominance of Belgium. And its effort showed up when they won a corner-kick in the 12th minute of the game. As De Bruyne delivered the ball in the box from the corner, the ball took a deflection from the Brazilian midfielder, Fernandinho and went behind the bar and gave Belgium an early lead.
Own goal by Brazil in the early minutes of the game put them in an unnecessary pressure situation to find an early equalizer. They almost scored a goal with the help of Thiago Silva’s header, but the ball came off the bar.
As Brazil was trying to find an equalizer, Belgium caught them on a counterattack and an incredulous run by the Belgian striker, Romelu Lukaku, dodging one or two Brazilian players, found De Bruyne and the midfielder’s long-range shot went to the back of the net, dodging the goalkeeper.
As Belgium scored their second goal, Brazil tried hard to at least score one goal. But as the first -half came to an end, it gave Brazil so much to plan and think. The first-half ended with a 2-0 lead for Belgium.
In the second-half, Roberto Firmino replacing Willian, Brazil came out with an offensive plan. Their attempt to find a goal finally came to an end on the 76th minute when the substitute, Renato Augusto, scored for Brazil just three minutes after coming on the pitch.
At this point, Brazilian fan’s hopes surged as there were 14 more minutes remaining, excluding injury time, to find another goal and extend the game to extra-time. However, Brazil couldn’t find another goal even in five additional minutes of injury time. The game ended with a 2-1 win for Belgium.
What’s next
As Brazil failed to beat Belgium, they also failed to step further in the World Cup 2018. Apparently, they have to come stronger in the next World Cup.
They have the strength to beat any team, but they lacked teamwork against Belgium and that’s what cost them the World Cup title once more.
After a hard-fought win for Belgium, they have qualified for semi-finals. They will face France in semi-finals in Krestovsky Stadium on July 10 at 2 pm ET. Guardian noted that France has also earned semi-final place after beating Uruguay in quarterfinals by a 2-0 score.